Monday, January 12, 2009

:) not my headache any more!

written a looong time ago by someone i once knew ;D


Lord have mercy...it's intern season again.

Most media groups welcome having interns during the
summer season, as it gives them an idea of people they
can hire in the future. Others can view it simply as
free slave labor.

I see it as a time when I need to buy more paracetamol
or more Advil.

The publication I work for is rather small and is now
going on its third year. It doesn't mean we get our
pick of interns though, and we'd rather go without an
intern if they fail in one way or another. It's funny
but some students forget (or don't see) that
internships are also a way for them to practice their
job-hunting skills.

We've had some interns who've become endearing, the
others who barely made the cut and the rest --well,
they're the ones who should enclose two aspirins with
every application they send out. *Sigh*

Tip#1: really READ what kind of publication you want
to get into. I've had cold calls from students who
just got the number of our office, and they've had
absolutely no idea what we do. Some get huffy when
informed we require a resume and three samples of
their work in the English language --because we don't
believe in getting people to make coffee for us. If
you want a writing gig, show your prospective boss you
can do the job. Otherwise, try Starbucks if you've got
what it takes to be a barista. (And I have great
respect for baristas)
I had to interview a student who supposedly
wanted to intern with us, but actually said she was
really eyeing a job with another company. Gee, thanks
for wasting my time, I thought to myself.

Tip#2: if by some miracle you pass someone's stringent
standards, show up for the appointed interview! Or
have the decency to inform them ahead of time you
can't make it. There IS such a thing as rescheduling.
One wannabe had some face time scheduled with our
editor-in-chief (NOT an easy thing to achieve, believe
me) and failed to show up on the appointed day,
calling only a week later to ask if he could
reschedule. His lame excuse? He had been waylaid out
of town with no way of getting back to the city.
Needless to say, the irate editor-in-chief refused to
grant another chance. (By the way, the out of town
location was by no means some backwater lacking in
electricity or cellular phone services)
Addendum to Tip#2: if you do pass the interview,
show up for work and don't leave people guessing
whether or not you will swan in to do your assigned
task. That's what calling in sick is for. Unless of
course you don't give a crap about your final
performance report from the people you're doing your
internship with.

Tip#3: we're a small company, we know we're not your
first choice, so please quit the crap and just be
professional (and don't be afraid to ask for help if
you have no clue about professional behavior).
Obviously, interns would love to put on their resume
that they worked for such-and-such company. If they
fail to land the big fish and have to settle for
whatever's left (or nearest their homes or schools),
treat the job with respect. You never know when your
co-workers can recommend you to another company.
Unless your parents can afford to buy you a job.

Thank God there's plenty of media groups for students
to choose from nowadays, giving them more variety to
exercise what they've learnt in college so far. I just
wish the teachers gave their students a crash course
in job hunting skills. Persistence pays in some cases,
but nothing beats having the common sense to do things right.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

the year that was

...or why i never had the time to post a single thing since setting up the blog

get a snack and a cup of coffee...lotsa s'plainin' (and possible complainin') and think of these as the highlights.

jan 2008 -after launching a magalog in december with the team, the pressure is on to complete the feb-march issue (and i double as pick-up/delivery person when there are items some messengers can't seem to bring on time to our far-flung office). we get a new editor-at-large after losing the very valuable copy editor in october. get a crash course in "led zep appreciation 101" and wonder why we never got this sort of education in high school, tsk. tried bikram yoga as an active participant (instead of a sack of potatoes armed with a camera) and liked it. oh yes, i also managed to piss off one friend and haven't spoken/emailed to her since --not a great way to start the year.

feb 2008 -my toyota fx gets broken into by drugged-out dumbasses who can't tell the difference between a laptop bag and a canvas bag stuffed with newspapers and other office crap (but no pricey hardware). i still harbor ill will toward those a**holes, but hey, if anyone can just line them up and let me kick them all in the groin, then in the cranium, i'll call it even. life goes on at the office and at home.

march 2008 -the fx gets hit in the rear by some jerk who decides to walk away...possibly the first hit-and-walk committed by an abominable atrocity (good lord, yes, this country apparently has a few cryptids lurking in dark streets and alleys, the urban version of the yeti or bigfoot). reviewing in earnest for the beansprout's exams (!!!). on the other side, i get addicted to karting (apparently therapeutic, and yes, it is healthier to do this stuff than take out your rage out on an actual road). forced to fix headlamps after a traffic enforcer tries to extort money from me for having a busted light. (the money is better off when directed at getting a vehicle fixed than attempting to fix a traffic enforcer, because let's face it, many are beyond repair)

april 2008 -the sprout lands in summer school (because, his facility in the local language isn't up to par...the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, but it's a good thing some fruit can roll as far away as they can from the tree, yes?) . get my own surreal 20 minutes talking over the phone with masi oka (nice guy, his mom is probably very proud of him) for an article. joined a wacky road challenge with the office crew and would have won a spot in the top three but for an even wackier team of women who pulled out all the stops to win their challenges :)

may 2008 -for the love of "pushing daisies" i go to the heroes' cemetery for the local cable channel's premiere (and discover lee pace hates pies). a best friend has a food fete at a many-starred hotel i can't say no to, then thanks to an inconsiderate blogger who doesn't bother checking facts, gets into hot water with his boss (and it isn't even his fault in the first damn place)...and i miss 5 out of 7 courses of heirloom dishes thanks to an uber-late director with no sense of time for phone interviews (he made up for it by having a real sense of humor). and i meet a prius for the first time --great car, wouldn't mind having one after the political dust settles down and people can actually afford to keep one running here.

june 2008 -the sprout starts the next grade (thank heavens!) and the magazine team gears up for the annual toycon at megatrade hall...with a maze-like cave the color of bilirubin (when you think about it, they probably got the color right, if they based it on the discolored stalactites from palawan's underground river).

july 2008 - the sprout celebrates being a year older this month at chocolate kiss, and i manage to piss off a second friend (and yes, i'm not speaking/emailing/texting that person either, wow kalabaw) because i was late for an 8am appointment because i went home at 3am, woke up at 5am to prep the sprout for school (no maids for us DIY folks) then tried to get an hour of sleep (which became 2 hours, because i didn't set the alarm properly, galing no?)

august 2008 -the fx dies en route to sta rosa to pick up a test drive unit. thankfully, it got stranded in a neighborhood with a lot of auto supply shops and mechanics. the sprout goes on the school's annual field trip with an uncle (thanks to a note specifying that unaccompanied minors will not be allowed on the trip)...and exam preparations!

september 2008 -the infamous shoot with the not-so-flexible models (!) i get stranded in a flashflood in the fx (!!!) just to get some shiny doc marten boots for that shoot (stylist only uses one pair, firming my resolve to never get anything in extreme weather again)...we go speed shopping at the manila international book fair (whee!) and use a zipline in tagaytay (better than their cable car if you want an adrenaline rush)...plunk down a chunk of cash (i could've bought tons of books with the money!) to fix the fx's smoke belching ways (to no avail...if you read on)

october 2008 -i get a year older (but then everyone does, unless you're already six feet under) and don't mention a thing about my birthday, even as i'm trying to wrangle (and not strangle) anyone involved in an out-of-town fashion shoot. how many clowns can fit into a toyota innova crammed with props and photo eqiupment? apparently eight of them can, and if you're a very skinny photographer, you can make that nine. my birthday gift from my mom (bless her) is a trip faaar out of town to see relatives i haven't in ages (a cousin got married) and unfortunately the sprout couldn't tag along because of, ahem, academic and disciplinary issues. (time to get a tutor)

november 2008 -the sprout gets banned from doing articles for the local broadsheet's kiddie section, the law laid down by the other parent (not the one with button eyes). the fx engine DIES, and while i'm trying to figure what to do with it (junk it, get a new engine, etc) i still have a fashion shoot at a certain location to pull off, and must deliver clothes/shoes to the stylist, get food, request money, blahblahblah (it's fine, the shoot gets published, life goes on) ...and i decide to quit after getting a talking-to from the family (not the gottis or gambinos, just another surname with a "G" and heck i already have two of 'em)

december 2008 - the new engine gets put in mid to late this month, still awaiting the guy who'll fix the dings, dents and scratches...a pretty mellow month, with its share of crappy and cool cab drivers. the sprout becomes mr. congeniality during a holiday in palawan
(he's gotta work on those one-on-one skills though, haaay). and i learn never to trust someone who says it's plankton season when it's really nematocytes (jellyfish larva) season...rabbit season! duck season!